Story Time
by Glow
Summary: Post That's Why the Lady is a Vamp. The night students hear the story of Merrill's "Clearly interesting past." [Complete]


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Title: Story Time 

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Rating: PG for the one swear. Unless you consider "slut" to be a curse. Than that makes it two.

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Disclaimer: Not mine. Consider them disclaimed.

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Notes: I actually wrote this shortly after I saw "That's Why the Lady is a Vamp" after bing intrigued by the "clearly interesting past line." It's pretty much my take on said past. While going through my files I came across it. I revised it a little bit and decided to post it. I figure you can never have to many Vampire High fics, right? I'm fairly new to the fic writing thing and this is the first time I've ventured out of my Trory (Gilmore Girls) world. I'd really appreciate any and all comments/criticisms. Especially sice I'm considering a sequel. Thanks and happy (hopefully) reading!

"You don't have to read my mind. I'm glad that you're staying."

"I'm glad that you're glad."

The words echoed in Merrill's mind bringing a small smile to her face. She walked into the main room and glanced around. Karl and Essie were embroiled in yet another game of chess. Marty was sitting quietly in a chair tapping his foot. Which was odd, because Marty never just sat quietly. He glanced up as she came into the room; a dangerous smile making it's way across his face. "Hey Merrill," he greeted sweetly.

__

Uh-oh. That could not be good. The smile left her face, replaced by suspiciously narrowed eyes. She looked over her sometimes tormentor with trepidation. "Yes?"

He gazed back at her innocently. A little too innocently for her liking. Marty, to be honest, was about as innocent as the big bad wolf. "I believe you owe us a little story." Merrill opened her mouth to protest but Marty cut her off, "You know since you summoned your maker and she nearly killed us all." Merrill's mouth snapped shut. She couldn't really argue with his logic there.

The chess game had been abandoned as its players watched the scene in front of them. "That seems fair," interjected Karl. He was losing again. Merrill looked to Essie for help but the female vampire just shrugged. She was curious too.

Merrill sighed and sat down. She supposed she did owe them. What harm could telling them a little about her past do? "All right. What do you want to know?"

Drew walked into the room. "What are we doing, guys?"

Marty answered, "Well, Merrill here was just about to tell us how she ended up being made by Miss Patsy, the original psycho slut."

Merrill glared, "Why thank you Marty for bringing everyone up to speed oh so colorfully. Do you want to here this or not?"

He motioned for her to continue with an exaggerated gesture of the arm. She walked over and took a seat next to Essie. Marty and Drew followed, sitting across from her next to Karl.

Merrill leaned forward, clasped her hands together and began her tale. "It was 1936. I had just turned eighteen." She stopped and her eyes glazed over. All the memories long since stomped down bubbled to the surface. She felt as if she were back there. She could feel, hear, taste and smell everything. She felt human again. _Not good. _She felt the pain long since locked away. She let the recollections wash over her and forgot about the others.

Her voice took on a bitter tone. "We came over from Europe when I was 10. My parents were from money. Cold and aristocratic. In our house love was foreign. A four-letter word even. I was to be seen not heard. I came late in their life, as they were both in their late fifties. A mistake apparently. They already had two grown sons what did they need a daughter for?"

She squeezed her eyes shut. "I was about to graduate high school, I wanted to go to college and become a veterinarian." Her fists clenched. "My father," she spat, "had other plans." He arranged a marriage for me. To the son of a business associate, Benjamin James Walker the Third." She snorted derisively, "He was gorgeous and charming and he knew it. He was almost everything a girl could have asked for. But that's what my father wanted. I didn't even have a choice. So our engagement was announced. Ben and I spent a great deal of time together that summer. We went to the theater, had dinner, and" she glanced down self consciously, "became close." 

Marty wiggled his eyebrows, "Just how close are we talking?"

She opened her eyes and glared at Marty. She then caught a flicker of something cross Drew's face. Something that looked a lot like jealousy. A quick scan of his mind confirmed her suspicions. _Interesting_. Drew studied the table, knowing that she knew he was jealous.

After a pause Merrill snapped herself back into the story. "I was happy. I thought we were happy. I wasn't in love with him, but I thought I could be eventually. No boy had ever paid any attention to me. I was flattered and felt special. Some things never change, huh? Even after all these years."

Marty was about to retort but Karl smacked him before whatever comment he had could be made. Marty chose to keep his thoughts to himself.

"One night, in the middle of October we were attending a party. I went to find him, but he was in a conversation. I caught part of it and, stayed to listen. He was talking to Cecily Walford. With her blonde curls and big, vacant blue eyes." Merrill's voice dripped with disdain. "Cecily was poor, since her father gambled away all her money but managed to hang around due to other people's kindness. They were talking about me. 'The mousy little rich bitch,' if I remember correctly. He was marrying me for the money and planning how to see Cecily on the side."

Essie reached over and patted Merrill's hand, "I'm sorry Merrill. Men suck."

Marty rolled his eyes and smirked, "Literally, here at night school." 

Merrill laughed at that and smiled at Marty. To her surprise he smiled back. _Weird_. She glanced away and continued with her story. "So I slipped away. Packed up some things and ran. I even stole some of my Daddy's money. I've always wondered if that little sin was all it took for me to deserve what I've become. I made my way downtown, where people without homes and families lived. I quickly realized that my plan had been ill conceived. A teenage girl, alone in the worst part of the city? So I bought some boys clothing, stuffed my hair into a hat and disguised myself."

Karl interrupted, "How very _Mulan_ of you." 

The others had no idea what he was talking about. "Karl? What are you blathering about?" asked Essie.

"_Mulan_. The Disney movie. Teenage girl runs away, joins the army, saves China from the Huns?" he was still met with blank faces. "Oh, nevermind." Karl sometimes forgot how long the others had actually been around.

"So anyway, I made the most of my money. It lasted a month or so, then after spending my last few cents on meal I met Patsy. And now here I am." Abruptly, she stood and began to walk away from the table. A chair flew out in front of her and blocked her way. She tried to go around it but the chair moved with her. "Marty!" she whirled around in exasperation.

"Hey, you promised us the story of your entire existence. Life, and un-life. By my calculations there is still another 65 years or so to be accounted for."

"So? It isn't all that interesting. I met Patsy. She was a vampire. Now, so am I. End of story. Roll the credits. Cue the applause." She pushed her hair back agitatedly. 

"I beg to differ. Plus, I'm bored."

"So what I'm tonight's entertainment? Sorry. Not interested. I don't want to go back there. Repression is perfectly nice."

"But it's not healthy. Sit down." Merrill sat in the chair and telekinetically Marty rolled her back to the table.

"Like you even care," she spat.

"I do." _Huh, he thought. I really do. What does that mean? _He decided not to dwell on it. "Continue, please."

Drew reached over and patted her arm. "Yes Merrill. Go on. We're here."

Merrill crossed her arms. "Fine. Patsy came up and started talking to me. Some stuff about how dangerous it was for a girl like me alone down there. I of course, was taken aback that she knew I wasn't a boy. Then she said something about how she had a daughter of her own and would be terribly upset if they had run away. I know now that she was reading my mind the entire time. So she knew exactly what to say. She seemed like a kind, southern lady trying to help out. She offered me a place to stay and foolishly I accepted. We went to an apartment and before the door even closed she bit me. There was pain, and I felt the blood dripping down my shirt and I could feel myself getting weaker. I tried to scream but then everything went black."

"I woke up a few days later in a warehouse in New York. I have no idea how I got there. I was a vampire. Pulseless, breathless, lifeless. Patsy was there prattling on about how terrific it would be now that she had me for bait. Apparently, since her looks had started to go it was harder to find willing victims to feed on. She had been looking for 'pretty, innocent thing' and I fit the bill. She said that if I didn't obey her that she would kill me. For real this time."

She got up and began pacing. "That first night was…" She trailed off and stared intently at the floor. "It was horrible. I can't believe that I did the things that I did."

She glanced at the others shame filling her eyes. "Do you remember the first night? The first night after you turned? The need for blood, the urge to hunt, to kill? For the first and last time I was truly animalistic. I had no conscience. We went outside and I could smell the blood, hear it pounding through people's veins and almost vamped right there. We picked out some victims at a pub and brought them back to the apartment." She shuddered, "We fed and it was total carnage. Those poor people."

Merrill stopped abruptly and brushed away tears. She hunched herself over and wrapped her arms around her stomach; "Anyway the next day I was sick and disgusted with myself. I had killed innocent people. I told Patsy I wouldn't do it anymore. She was furious and nearly threw me outside, but when I felt the sun burn my skin I relented. We left New York that very night. I spent the next fifteen years wandering around the United States. I had a school uniform and we pretended to be mother and daughter, usually in need of assistance from some kind gentleman who happened to cross our path. I rarely killed only when the bloodlust became too much. I drank only after they were dead to stay alive. I was miserable. Then I got my gift. For awhile there it was uncontrollable. My head was filled with the thoughts of anyone within fifty feet of me. I couldn't sleep and I got horrible headaches." Merrill rubbed her temples. "Eventually, of course I got a handle on it, but I had had enough of Patsy and her life." 

Merrill sat back down and began rocking in her chair. Once again she had forgotten everyone else. "In March of 1951 I acted on a plan. Patsy, by then thought I was completely under her control and would occasionally leave me alone. I had grown strong enough to keep her from finding out things that I didn't want her to know. We were in New Orleans and she went of in search of some 'gentleman company'" Merrill made air quotes and if she had the ability to blush she would have. Once again, I slipped away. This time I knew I had to get far away, and fast. I headed to the nearest port and stowed away in a cargo boat. I figured it would be pretty hard for her to follow me across water. I lost count of how long I was down there, but we finally docked in Brazil. I fed a little, then hopped on another boat. This one was headed to England. Brazil didn't seem like a great place for me, what with the whole perpetually sunny thing. And I needed to keep moving. I was pretty sure I could block Patsy mentally but I wanted to be far, far away." 

"When we docked I made my way into the city." She smiled suddenly, "London, by the way is the perfect place for a vampire to live. The sun rarely comes out and it's big and crowded so people don't really pay attention to you."

"Ah." Marty agreed, "London is awesome. I got my leather coat there. People are pretty blasé too. They don't blink an eye if something odd happens." He gave a self-satisfied smirk, "Like, for example if there is a rash of murders brought on by severe neck trauma."

Merrill stared at him suspiciously, "Wait. Did this 'odd happening' happen anywhere around 1960?"

"Yep. Good year. Why?"

Merrill sat back down and sighed, "Leave it to you to ruin my life before we even met. I was living as a mortal. Working nights at a pub. I passed just fine. This, remember, was before Anne Rice and _Buffy the Vampire Slayer. _The BPDA didn't exist.If people noticed anything off about me they never would have suspected vampirism. And everyone was pale in London. That is until Marty McHungry over there went on his killing spree. I had to leave because people were starting to talk about vampires." 

Marty had the grace to look repentant, "Oh. Sorry about that."

"Well I probably would have had to move on soon enough. People would have wondered why I hadn't aged at all. I had saved up some money and decided on a little vacation. I headed to France, an ended up staying for about a year. Then I spent some time in Italy, a bit more in Spain. All over really. I stole a bit, but mostly I sold some drawings to pay for things. Before I knew it, it was 1975. I decided to head back to the States. I thought twenty-four years was enough time for Patsy to have forgotten about me. When I arrived back I ran into Ben again."

"Ben?" asked Karl, confused.

"Her no good cheating, gold digger of a fiancee. Remember?" Essie prompted.

"Right. Go on."

"He was close to seventy years old by then. He was drunk and thought he was hallucinating. He told me what had gone on. He had married Cecily after getting her pregnant and they had 7 grown children. His business had gone under and the had no money. My parents and brothers had long since passed away. He kept going on and on about how my leaving had ruined his life. I told him everything I had overheard the night of the party and he looked like he had seen a ghost. A few days later it was reported in the papers that he had a heart attack on the street. I still feel a little guilty for that one." Her eyes gleamed, "But not much." 

"Here, I realized I could not live as openly. The BPDA was in its early stages and people were more suspicious. I stuck to the bad parts of town, stealing and such. That was my life for the next fifteen years."

"Then the nineties hit." The others groaned. "Exactly. _Interview With a Vampire, Buffy, _blah, blah, blah. The mortals were suspicious. I went underground and lived on the run until the Elders contacted me and offered me this chance. To become human." She gestured around her. "I accepted, obviously and here I am. So were the days of my life."

The others exchanged looks. They now had an entirely different picture of Merrill. Marty raised his hand, "Question. Why didn't you tell us this before? You're so much cooler now." Merrill simply rolled her eyes. Marty would always be Marty.

Marty had a whole new impression of Merrill. He now knew that the girl who he had once thought of as shy, weak and boring was none of those things. He studied her for a minute as though seeing her for the first time. _She's beautiful. And… _Merrill met his eyes. _Damn._ It was not a good idea to be having those thoughts about a telepath. Marty felt her reach into his mind and tried desperately to find a way to block her out.

Merrill felt Marty's scrutiny and had glanced up expecting the usual derision in his gaze. Instead he looked appraising and unusually open. When their eyes locked he seemed almost guilty. _What is up with him tonight? _ She decided to find out. When she attempted to read his mind she was surprised to find a barrier. He had never tried to block her out before. But then Merrill long ago had given up on reading Marty's mind. What she found always seemed to either confuse or annoy her. Still, she hadn't known he knew how to erect blocks. She concentrated a little harder, unconsciously reaching out for his hand and pushed through.

Essie and Drew meanwhile were studying the two, Essie with curiosity and Drew with alarm. Karl was oblivious. The scene seemed odd to the two vampires. You had Merrill and you had Marty. Complete opposites who were generally quite antagonistic towards one another. Yet here they were in close proximity apparently gazing into each other's eyes and holding hands.

Marty and Merrill were unaware of the examination. Merrill had broken through Marty's shields. He resigned himself to the situation and waited. _Brave. Smart. Strong. Beautiful._ Merrill was now picking up fragments of thoughts and feelings._ Who? _She wondered.Then she knew. Merrill stood abruptly and went to her coffin. 

Marty watched her walk off. "Merrill…" he called after her. She let the lid shut. _Shit. What did she see? _He slumped back and rubbed the back of his neck.

"What the hell just happened? Did you do something to her?" Drew demanded.

"No. Maybe. Not on purpose." Marty stood and walked to his coffin. He had some thinking to do. Maybe being cooped up in this cellar was messing with him more than he had realized. _Come on. What made me think of Merrill of all people like that?_

Drew had watched the weary retreat and his alarm had grown. He stalked to his coffin and got in and slammed it shut. _Something just isn't right._

Karl yawned and stretched. "It's almost morning. I'm going to go to sleep. What about you Es?"

"Yeah. One minute," she replied. Karl shrugged and went to settle in for the day. Essie sat for a minute pondering the night's events. She smirked. _Things are about to get very interesting in this cellar. _"I can't wait," she clapped her hands gleefully and followed her classmates to bed. 

-END-

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